Apple records 2 million+ iPhone 5 pre-orders, constraining supply

Apple will have stock on hand at Apple Stores this Friday.

Apple announced on Monday that it has taken over 2 million pre-orders for the iPhone 5 within the first 24 hours of availability. That number is double the previous pre-order record set by the iPhone 4S last year, and has pushed online sales availability well into October.

"iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal," Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller, said in a statement.

The company said that initial demand is, as usual, outstripping supply. Apple still will have iPhone 5 models in stock at 356 retail Apple Store locations on September 21, with sales kicking off at 8 a.m. local time in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK. It will also be available in the US from AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, select Best Buy, RadioShack, Target and Walmart stores, and select authorized resellers; outside of the US, be sure to check authorized carriers and retailers in your location.

The iPhone 4S sold over 4 million units during its launch weekend; if this doubling of sales continues, Apple could sell as many as 8 million iPhone 5s by next Monday.

Promoted Comments

They are a publicly traded company, under huge scrutiny by legions of observers who (for some reason) are dying to catch them screwing up. If they were to overstate the pre-orders for the iPhone 5, they would be found out, and they would be liable to the SEC for criminal malfeasance.

This idiotic meme comes up every year, in two flavors. Bitter Lemon ("They are lying about pre-orders.") and Wormwood ("They intentionally constrain supplies to create the impression of demand.") When Apple reports their earning a quarter later, their record profits inevitably prove that they (a) made as many phones as they possibly could, and (b) sold them all.

But the People of the Internet are blind, deaf, and have no memory, so we just go around again annually, in some kind of sick, Apple-hating Groundhog Day of ignorance and ill will.

There is no real proof, just Apples word so far (just saying) and you got to keep in mind... while Apple does make some good products, it's at marketing that they are _king_.

What's so special, unique, or difficult to replicate about Apple's marketing? Or, if it's not difficult to copy, why aren't other companies (tech or not – marketing is pretty generalisable) copying it?

They're a publicly traded company, which means they'll have to report quarterly numbers that aren't made up and are verifiably correct. Lying now will only result in them providing dodgy answers in a month about why their numbers don't line up with this press release. That will drop the price of their stock, which will put the people running the company on the hot seat.

It's safe to assume these numbers are real because they'll easily be caught when lying.

There is no real proof, just Apples word so far (just saying) and you got to keep in mind... while Apple does make some good products, it's at marketing that they are _king_.

What's so special, unique, or difficult to replicate about Apple's marketing? Or, if it's not difficult to copy, why aren't other companies (tech or not – marketing is pretty generalisable) copying it?

What's so special, unique, or difficult to replicate about Apple's marketing?

Glorified paper launches

Apple produces a smaller quantity of their iDevices and then all the press writes about their stockouts. This practice would be more correctly termed a "paper launch".

You and your ilk have got to be trolls flinging the proverbial poo. How is it a manufactured stockout when they sold even more than last time? How is it a stockout when they still have units ready for retail come Sep 21? How is it a stockout when they still have to prepare for a world wide roll out before end of year (100 countries).

They are a publicly traded company, under huge scrutiny by legions of observers who (for some reason) are dying to catch them screwing up. If they were to overstate the pre-orders for the iPhone 5, they would be found out, and they would be liable to the SEC for criminal malfeasance.

This idiotic meme comes up every year, in two flavors. Bitter Lemon ("They are lying about pre-orders.") and Wormwood ("They intentionally constrain supplies to create the impression of demand.") When Apple reports their earning a quarter later, their record profits inevitably prove that they (a) made as many phones as they possibly could, and (b) sold them all.

But the People of the Internet are blind, deaf, and have no memory, so we just go around again annually, in some kind of sick, Apple-hating Groundhog Day of ignorance and ill will.

They are a publicly traded company, under huge scrutiny be legions of observers who (for some reason) are dying to catch them screwing up. If they were to overstate the pre-orders for the iPhone 5, they would be found out, and they would be liable to the SEC for criminal malfeasance.

This idiotic meme comes up every year, in two flavors. Bitter Lemon ("They are lying about pre-orders.") and Wormwood ("They intentionally constrain supplies to create the impression of demand.") When Apple reports their earning a quarter later, their record profits inevitably prove that they (a) made as many phones as they possibly could, and (b) sold them all.

But the People of the Internet are blind, deaf, and have no memory, so we just go around again annually, in some kind of sick, Apple-hating Groundhog Day of ignorance and ill will.

You know, you put more elegantly than I could. I've decided to use their announcements as my Ars Forum spring cleaning to ignore any user that falls in the Bitter Lemon or Wormwood category. I predict it would be effective.

They are a publicly traded company, under huge scrutiny be legions of observers who (for some reason) are dying to catch them screwing up. If they were to overstate the pre-orders for the iPhone 5, they would be found out, and they would be liable to the SEC for criminal malfeasance.

This idiotic meme comes up every year, in two flavors. Bitter Lemon ("They are lying about pre-orders.") and Wormwood ("They intentionally constrain supplies to create the impression of demand.") When Apple reports their earning a quarter later, their record profits inevitably prove that they (a) made as many phones as they possibly could, and (b) sold them all.

But the People of the Internet are blind, deaf, and have no memory, so we just go around again annually, in some kind of sick, Apple-hating Groundhog Day of ignorance and ill will.

Yes, it's actually more confusing to find out the joke price than to find the carrier price.

Joke price? I know I'm feeding you and all but what is a "joke price?"

You mean the $400 discount I got for signing a contract for two years with a provider I have used for ten years and have zero intention of leaving, for the same monthly amount as everyone paying the full price of the phone but didn't sign a contract?

Joke price? I know I'm feeding you and all but what is a "joke price?"

You mean the $400 discount I got for signing a contract for two years with a provider I have used for ten years and have zero intention of leaving, for the same monthly amount as everyone paying the full price of the phone but didn't sign a contract?

Sounds like the joke's on you, Bub.

thats one of the things i hate. stay on the contract for 2 years and supposedly pay off the device, yet your bill does not go down. you are probably losing money by not upgrading.

No proof, but one can reasonably induce they’re telling the truth from previous launched.

The iPhone 4 sold 600,000 pre-sales and sold 1.7 million in its first weekend. The iPhone 4S had pre-orders of 1,000,000 and sold 4 million in its first weekend. A 2010 report stated that Foxconn produces 140,000 iPhones a day. Reports have the iPhone 5 going in to production mid-July.

If one were to reasonably assume Apple will again double first weekend sales and hit 8 million that would mean pre-orders of 2,000,000 units. At 140,000 units a day you need 57 days to produce ~8,000,000 units. 57 days ago was mid-July.

There are of course a whole host of factors that are unknown. Foxconn could have increased the rate of production, the rumored start date could have been earlier, or later, but considering past history and today’s announcements I think those numbers stand up pretty well.

I honestly cannot comprehend why so many people are ordering a mediocre update to a decent phone.

iSheep I guess.

Perhaps not all two million are upgrading from a 4S? Some might even be buying their first smartphone :O

In my wife's case she's upgrading from a Droid X. Crazy, right? I know I just blew Basekid's mind with that one. Any other memes that need to be squashed this AM? Sounds like some of you had some bad weekends...

I honestly cannot comprehend why so many people are ordering a mediocre update to a decent phone.

Perhaps your efforts to understand need to go beyond this:

Basekid wrote:

iSheep I guess.

?

It’s one of the easiest things to understand. You just have to open your mind to the possibility that neither everyone thinks like you about electronics/computers nor that they neccessarily should. Apple just identified that 90% of the population cares about (with The Magic Of Common Sense™) and they cater to that. Easy-peasy to understand.

"if this doubling of sales continues"always think of Disco Stu trying to sell homer on disco when i read a line like this.

Nah, my first thought was xkcd.com/605 . Tho xkcd.com/1007 is a good second.

Yeah http://xkcd.com/605. Back on topic, I looked the next day and saw a two week wait online and decided to give it a shot in person at the Apple store. Will show up half an hour before opening to see what the scene is like.

There is no real proof, just Apples word so far (just saying) and you got to keep in mind... while Apple does make some good products, it's at marketing that they are _king_.

What's so special, unique, or difficult to replicate about Apple's marketing? Or, if it's not difficult to copy, why aren't other companies (tech or not – marketing is pretty generalisable) copying it?

Yes, it's actually more confusing to find out the joke price than to find the carrier price.

Joke price? I know I'm feeding you and all but what is a "joke price?"

You mean the $400 discount I got for signing a contract for two years with a provider I have used for ten years and have zero intention of leaving, for the same monthly amount as everyone paying the full price of the phone but didn't sign a contract?

Sounds like the joke's on you, Bub.

Jokes on people with contracts. I use a Galaxy Nexus, $350 phone off contract with (arguably) a better operating system, more freedoms, not glass and metal, and all the "features" of an iPhone.

Then I dumped Verizon and cut my phone bill in half by going to tmobile. So in about 8 months I will have recouped the cost of kicking Verizon and buying my new phone while having better service. And have the freedom to do what I want, when I want.

The US is one of the few places where two years is standard, so keep signing the dotted line. I'll enjoy my freedom and cheaper service.